Throwback Thursday – Family Stories

Throwback Thursday – Family Stories

For today’s prompt we are to remember back to some of the words we used or that were trending during the past days. Thanks, Lauren

https://lssattitudeofgratitude.wordpress.com/2022/10/13/throwback-thursday-59-no-one-else-would-know/

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This week’s prompt is: Passing on the Stories

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1) Did you have multiple family generations nearby when growing up?

Yes, all within a few blocks of our house we had my grand-parents, two sets of aunts, uncles, & cousins. We’d all get together quite a lot, especially on holidays and birthdays.

2) What are some of the earliest family stories you remember hearing?

I can’t remember any right now.

3) Did your parents tell you the story about how they met? Did you share with your children your own love story?

I think I remember them saying they met while both were working at a commercial laundry service company. Otherwise I don’t know much else, except they went to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico for their honeymoon.

4) Did aunts, uncles, or grandparents ever share embarrassing stories about your parents when they were children? Were the stories fictionalized or factual?

No, I don’t remember any.

5) Did your parents or siblings ever tell your kids embarrassing stories from your youth?

I don’t remember, but they probably did. I know I told my kids lots of silly and embarassing stories about my younger days.

6) Were there tales you wish you had asked your parents or grandparents, but never did? What would you like to have asked them?

Sure, I wished I’d asked lots more when I had the chance.

7) If you had a magical way to speak to a deceased relative, what would you most like to ask them?

Well, I’d ask what’s it like where the are now. Otherwise, just random questions.

8) Do you share stories about your time growing up with your children or grandchildren? Is there something you don’t want to be lost when you are no longer in this realm?

I have always told stories about my younger days to my girls, and to my grand-kids, too. Something I don’t want to be lost after I’m gone? Probably all my writings, and photos.

9) Have you ever done research to find out more facts about your lineage? Did you ever find anything surprising?

No, I’ve never done this. Someone in my family did, but I never knew what they found. I did have a relative, maybe a great aunt or someone who did write down all she could remember about the relatives. I do have a copy of that.

10) Have you kept journals, records, or important information about your family, that you want to be handed down for future generations?

I’ve always kept diaries, and journals, but not specifically a history of my relatives. That would be nice, but I don’t know much beyond my grand-parents.

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2022 BS

Throwback Thursday – Meal Time

Throwback Thursday – Meal Time

For today’s prompt we are to remember back to some of the words we used or that were trending during the past days. Thanks, Maggie!

https://fromcavewalls.wordpress.com/2022/10/06/throwback-thursday-57-family-meal-rituals/

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Let’s start at the top of the day, breakfast! Did your family have a sit down breakfast or were you more grab and go? What beverages were served at breakfast? What was your favorite (and/or least favorite) breakfast meal?

I can’t remember when I was real young, except on Saturday mornings watching cartoons, I’d get one of those little cereal boxes with the perforations in it, so you could pour milk right in the box. That was fun. Later on, it was fix whatever you want, so mostly I’d fix broiler toast and iced tea. Still later on I’d just have coffee and a piece of pie or cake before school

Did you snack before the mid-day meal?

Not usually.

Lunch for most children was eaten at school with the exception of weekends, holidays, or summer vacation. At school, did you buy your lunch from the cafeteria, or did you pack lunch? In high school, were you allowed to leave school grounds during the lunch period?

A mixture of both. I had a meal ticket for school lunches, or sometimes I’d have a packed lunch from home, in a cool lunch box. My favorite was pink vinyl with a poodle dog on it and the Eiffel Tower. In Jr. High and High School we could go off campus for lunch. I did go with friends in Jr. High to a nearby drugstore/food restaurant for hamburgers. In High School I only ate in the cafeteria.

For times when you had lunch at home, was it sandwiches, leftovers, or a newly prepared meal?

Hmmm … can’t remember at all. Oh, but one lunch meal I’d always make was grilled cheese and tomato soup – only on Kentucky Derby Day – a must watch. Then other times my sister and I would get out the deep fryer and make home-made potato chips.

The evening meal is usually the most formal meal in many homes. Did your family sit down together and enjoy the evening meal or were you more of a TV dinner in front of the TV family?

We usually all sat at the kitchen table for our supper together.

How did your weekend meals differ from your weekdays?

Not much, except for a couple of things. My dad made us pancakes on Sunday mornings, and usually he’d grill outside for supper sometimes.

Who did most of the cooking in your household? Did that person also do the meal planning and grocery shopping? Were you taught to cook or were you shoo’d out of the kitchen?

My mom did most of the cooking (except for Sunday morning), also grocery lists and shopping. Later, I slowly learned to cook and helped out.

Did you have dessert served at your meals? If so, what types?

Not always, but once in awhile mom would make a chocolate cake.

Who cleaned up after meals? Was it a shared responsibility between men/women, girls/boys or was it delegated based on gender?

Mostly mom, then me and my sister. Dad did sometimes.

How about late night snacks? Okay or discouraged?

I can’t really remember, but I guess we could if we wanted something.

Were dining manners stressed in your household? No elbows on the table, no hats at the table, no belching, please, thank you, and may I be excused?

We learned how to use our manners at the table, but it wasn’t enforced much, because my sister and I were nice kids – haha

Did you have occasions where you had large family gatherings for meals? What occasions?

Yes, holidays and birthdays all the extended family would get together.

Did you say grace or have a blessing before meals?

No, we didn’t … except at Christmas and Thanksgiving my Uncle would say a prayer before we ate. Same one every time.

Now for the fun part. What dishes are you glad disappeared over the years? What dishes have you carried forward into your own home?

Liver and onions finally disappeared!

I still use our family’s taco recipe – like all the extended family used the same one. Not much of a recipe but we liked it. You have corn tortillas (lightly fried), taco toppings of lettuce, cheese, onions, and tomatoes. Fry hamburger meat, then add either hot sauce, salsa, or picante sauce, and lots of ketchup. Heat & serve. Yum. 🙂

 

BONUS: Care to share any favorite family recipes?

see above answer

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2022 BS

Grandma’s Spooky Garage

My Grandma’s Spooky Garage

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After I posted my flashback post yesterday, about my Grandma’s Ghostly House, here  there was some interest in hearing more.

This then is a true story I posted on August 11, 2014, about my Grandma’s Spooky Garage.

Most of these happened when I was a kid, and I’d be over there at her house.

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SPOOKY GARAGE

Have you ever felt like an unseen presence was watching you? You get that creepy feeling, maybe your hair stands up on the back of your neck, or you get hyper sensitive of any stealthy noises? Your ears want to hear something, anything, but you don’t…you just feel an overwhelming need to leave where you are. You are being watched. You don’t know who it is…or what it is, but you can sense they are there.

I have had this feeling lots of times. The most frequent was at my Grandma’s house…the one from my previous story. I could feel someone or something watching me in that back bedroom, which was scary, but the strongest feeling of this was in the garage. It was an old wooden and stucco outbuilding, right by the house. It was big enough for one car, and some items hanging on the walls on either side. The floor was just dirt, and there were two doors you’d have to open to get the car inside or out…no automatic garage door on this old place. The whole structure seemed kind of rickety, and there was always a musty smell, of old dirt and car parts. Nothing sinister, just the usual homeowner’s garage filled with tools, and other items.

However, if you went further into the garage, there was another door. Back behind where the car was parked, was a flimsy door. When in that little back room you could feel the weirdness. It didn’t look very strange, just a bunch of canning jars, and miscellaneous stored items, some junk from the house being stored. My cousin and I would always beg to go prowl around in there, though, mainly because it was spooky, and we liked to look at all the stuff.

The very best part, we thought, was an antique trunk. It must have belonged to some long lost relative, I don’t know, but it had all kinds of interesting things in there to look at. There were clothes from a bygone era, mementos, and a strange little box with this person’s hair in it…sort of a long tress of brown and gray, tied with a ribbon. It was fascinating!

Just as we’d get really into our discoveries, though we’d get spooked, because we could definitely feel/sense that we were being watched. Maybe it was the original owner of the trunk, but we never saw anyone…ghost or otherwise. We’d try to stick it out and keep looking, but it never failed, there would come a point where we had to run, run as fast as we could out of there, before the unseen entity grabbed at us.

I went in there lots of times by myself, even when I was told not to, but I couldn’t resist. I never knew what ever happened to that old trunk when my Grandma moved away. Wish I did.

Do you ever get the creepy, being watched feeling?

One more note: Later on, after I was grown up, when my Grandma would go out of town, she’d ask me to come over to water plants, get the mail, and just check that all was okay with the house while she was gone. I would do it, but I’ll tell you what…I did it in a hurry, because being in that quiet house all by myself, was almost too much to take. I could feel the watcher’s eyes on me the whole time!

There is one more story I can remember about strange things that happened in her house. I’ll post it tomorrow.

Thanks for reading my true ghost stories!

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2022 BS

Grandma’s Ghostly House

Grandma’s Ghostly House

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This is a true ghost story that happened when I was a kid. I first posted this on this day, August 4th, 2014.

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My Grandma’s house always had a spooky feeling to it. As a kid, my cousin and I would spend the night over there in the back bedroom…even though we were scared of that room.

It felt like something was watching us from up in the NW corner of the ceiling. One night we heard what we swore were babies crying in the living room, so we sneaked in there to have a look.

The room was dim, but no lights were on. What we saw was the old rocking chair, just rocking back and forth…no one was sitting in it. Could this have been a ghost, rocking a ghost baby? I don’t know, but that is what we believed.

Here’s a picture of the house today. It looks like a regular old house, doesn’t it? I don’t know who lives there now, but I always wonder if they have weird things happen in there like we used to, all those years ago. It looks about the same as

when my grandparents lived there.

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2022 BS

Throwback Thursday – Dating Days

Throwback Thursday – Dating Days

https://lssattitudeofgratitude.wordpress.com/2022/07/28/throwback-thursday-49-first-dating-experiences/

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Today’s questions to think about is about our early dating experiences. Thanks, Lauren!

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1) On your very first date, did you do the asking, or were you asked out?

I don’t remember. I don’t remember my first date at all.

2) Were you typically stressed out before a first date? Did things seem to be easier the more you dated the same person?

I don’t think I was ever nervous about a date.

3) What did you do to prepare for the date? Did you wear new clothes, or special outfits?

No, nothing specially bought. Just regular clothes. (except later on I got a fancy prom dress for that time)

4) How did you meet those first dates? Were your dates with friends of a family member, or friends of a friend?

All were from guys I met at school, except one which was a family friend.

5) Did you have a curfew on those early dates? Did you typically arrive home on time or were you constantly breaking curfew?

I think I had to be back home by 11 p.m. and was on time.

6) Did your parents insist on meeting whomever you dated?

I can’t remember. As one was a neighbor we already knew, and the others I don’t think so until my boyfriend I did get married to.

7) Where did you usually go when on a date? (movies, concerts, picnics, etc.)

Movies, restaurants, school functions like football games. Once I went on a little day trip with their family. Sometimes my almost husband and I would go out with his family to a club for music and dancing.

8) Did the boy/man always pay for the date or did you go Dutch treat?

The guy paid for the things we did on a date.

9) Were you typically the talker or the listener on a date?

Probably about even with talking and listening.

10) What did you do if the date clearly wasn’t going well? (feign a headache, ask to go home, end the date early, etc.)

I don’t think any date was not going well. We had fun doing things when we went out.

11) A connection from the past to the present, if applicable. How long did you date your current partner before marriage?

I met my husband when we were in 11th grade of high school. We dated that year, and the next school year 12th grade, and got married a few months after graduation. We were both 19. Guess it was a good match, as it will soon be 52 years this year we’ve been married.

12) Bonus Question: Care to share a disasters first date??????

Nope, didn’t have a disaster date. Oh, wait … my almost husband’s car broke down at a drive in movie once, and we had to call my dad to come get us. Or the time his car broke down on the highway and the cops gave us a ride home in their squad car. Well the date wasn’t a disaster, just the after part with the cars breaking down.

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2022 BS

 

 

Throwback Thursday – Friends

Throwback Thursday – Friends

t

 

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Thanks for the interesting topic, Maggie!

Here are a few questions Maggie asks:

Who was the earliest friend you remember? What drew you to this person? What kinds of things did you do together. Did you have pen pals? Have you maintained long-term friendships from childhood. Did you have autograph books? How about high school yearbooks signed by friends? What kinds of things may have made you sever friendships? Are you a friend collector – the more the better – or are you content with the intimacy of a few close friends? How does your personality (shy or outgoing) affect the friendships you develop? What is the quality you desire in a friend?

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My earliest friend I remember is still my dearest friend. In fact today (Dec. 18) is her birthday, and I’ve sent her a cute birthday meme and Birthday wishes.

We knew each other when we were babies (well, I don’t remember really, but our mothers were good friends back then, so we played together). Then we went all through our school days together, had double dates with our boyfriends (later to be husbands) together, and have enjoyed lots of ups and downs, laughs and tears throughout the years.

I had a few friends while at school, and was friendly to most everyone. I actually see them on FB quite often, too. Otherwise, there isn’t any one I hang out with here. Some are friends to say hi to, and one (K) comes by to visit when they are in town. So fun to get together for a little bit, though.

As for pen pals … I’ve had actual letter writing pen pals quite a lot over the years. They were from all over the world. I wrote a letter to a magazine to find pen pals a few times, and the response was tremendous! I still have lots of their letters. It was so much fun. Then the internet and email came along, and the letter writing pretty much stopped, and we didn’t have a computer for many years, so we lost touch.

I do have my old autograph book which friends from school signed, and also my school yearbooks which had lots of fun comments written in there.

I’m not normally out and about socializing anymore. I’m happy staying in. I consider my family my best friends. ❤

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2021 BS

Neighbor Houses – # 9 & 10

Neighbor Houses  – # 9 & 10

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These are my thoughts and memories of the houses in our neighborhood when I was a kid.

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Here are a couple more I remember from the neighborhood houses:

The Carne’s House – Across the street and down one from ours. I didn’t know these people, but their daughter went to the same class in school as my younger sister and they were friends.

The ? House – I didn’t know these people either, but they were a little farther down across the street, though still in our block of houses. This is a scary and awful story that I heard about the lady that lived there. Seems one of her family was mowing their lawn, and the mower slung something out and it hit the lady’s leg. Very serious, and she developed gangrene and died from it. That is why now, I’m so afraid to be around anyone mowing, because it certainly could sling something from under it and hit me or someone else.

It was also behind their house that something strange happened in the middle of the night. I was just little, and I’d get up in the middle of the night to look out the front windows for UFOs. Well this one night there were huge fireballs exploding above their house. I know I saw it, but no one else ever said they knew anything about it.

I wrote about this before, so if you want to read the whole expanded true story it is here

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2021 B

 

Neighbor Houses # 7 & 8 – Moths & Hearses

Neighbor Houses # 7 & 8 – Moths & Hearses

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These are my thoughts and memories of the houses in our neighborhood when I was a kid.

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Jo jo’s house – the dog

Reeder/Brewster house

This next house was two doors down from ours to the west. A very small house, and we didn’t really know these people – at least I didn’t, just their last name – Hamilton. Can’t remember if they had kids or not, but they did have a dog.

The dog’s name was JoJo, and was a mutt, medium size white with brown spots, and a snaggle tooth. He was a kind of terror of the neighborhood and ran loose (they didn’t have a fence I don’t think). We’d always have to holler at him to leave us alone, because we were kind of scared of him.

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This next one was a medium sized house three doors down from ours to the east. Two different families lived there at different times, and there were kids I went to school with.

The Reeder’s I didn’t know much about, but played sometimes with the daughter my age.

The Brewster’s I remember pretty well. Their daughter, my age, and I would play a lot. One time we got ice cream cones from the ice cream truck that came by. It wasn’t often this special truck was in the neighborhood that had cones, so it was a real treat. However, this one time, just as we’d gotten ours there was this horrible invasion of moths. We called them candlebugs. There were like millions of them in a swarm that descended upon us and our ice cream. They got in our face, hair, and even got stuck in our ice cream. We went screaming into the house. These bugs stayed around for a long time, getting into houses, too. I remember my mom taking the vacuum cleaner and sucking up piles of them. But some weren’t dead and they crawled back out the hose.

Another fun memory is that the girl’s father would take us driving around the neighborhood in his … um … unique car. He’d bought a used black hearse! That was so weird and so cool, too. Me and her would be in the back laughing and hollering. haha 🙂

Hope you’re enjoying hearing my neighborhood memories! There are just a few more.

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2021 BS

 

Throwback Thursday – Snacks

Throwback Thursday – Snacks

https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/87279163/posts/3667244424

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Thanks for the topic of our snack times, and the questions, Maggie! 🙂

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The Questions:

Did your family snack? Were your snacks homemade or purchased from a store? Did your family bake or make treats for the holidays? What was your favorite? Are you a sweet or salty snacker? What candy or snacks did you like best? Why? What snacks did you deplore? Are there any candies you loved that are no longer made? Do you snack now? How has your taste for snacks changed over the years?

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I’m pretty sure all our family had lots of snacks to nibble on. Mostly they were home made snacks, like popcorn, or cake. We did get donuts from a bakery sometimes, and another way we got donuts was from a door to door sales person who’d come by. These were so good, and called ‘Spudnuts’. They were a special recipe using potato flour.

My mom always made us birthday cakes, my favorite was called an orange cake, soaked in orange juice after baking. She also made candy for Christmas. These were always chocolate fudge, divinity, and date loaf.

I take turns liking sweet snacks mostly, but lots of times just want something salty. I don’t think there is any snack that I didn’t like.

There for awhile my sister and I would make our own potato chips in our deep fryer. Saturday afternoons we’d get everything ready, the hot oil, the thin sliced potatoes, and get them made in time to watch some afternoon TV. They were so good fresh like that.

We always had sweet iced tea, summer or winter, and occasionally a Coca-Cola. These were a special treat, and came in tiny bottles.

And then there was the ice cream man who came by in his truck with the tinkly music playing. More than once I’d chase him down the road hollering ‘stop!’ haha

Whenever we had a little money, all us kids would go down to the little store at the end of the street to buy penny candy. That was always great. If you had 50 cents you could get 50 pieces of candy! Woo hoo!

I still love to snack, but things have changed in the last few years. I still want all the sweet and salty things, but with diabetes I can’t have sugary things (or very little). Makes me sad, and the sugar free kind of treats are just not the same. And for other reasons I can’t have popcorn or nuts/seeds, so that’s a big bummer, too. Oh well, that’s how it goes.

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2021 BS

 

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Neighbor Houses # 6

Neighbor Houses # 6

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These are my thoughts and memories of the houses in our neighborhood when I was a kid.

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Kennedy’s House

This is the house that was right next door to ours to the west. A small white framed house. It had a large front yard, and a fairly big back yard. In the front yard the older lady (portly, long white hair kept in a braid) would grow some vegetables. The back yard had a pen for raising chickens.

This lady would come over to our house a lot, and would babysit me and my sister from time to time. She had her grandchildren come visit her, and they would come to play in our front yard. We liked digging in the dirt, making roads for our little toy cars, trucks, and horses to go around.

One time I’d been to her house and was carrying a big glass bowl she’d borrowed from my mom, back to our house and I tripped on her porch. It was just a slatted wooden pallet kind of deal. Anyway, the bowl hit my mouth and broke my bottom tooth in half. So I had to go to the dentist where I got a cap put on the tooth. It was silver, and I had that silver tooth for many years, even after I got married and had my own kids. Finally I had the tooth pulled.

Another memory is that she gave us Christmas presents, and this one year was a big set of those Little Golden Books. I loved those books! 🙂

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2021 BS